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| Sunday, 21 September 2003 |
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Sel lipi by Gotabhaya Swasthi Shree! Thus says His Sacred Majesty, the gracious Great King, glorious Chakravarthi, King of the Kings of Maya, Pihiti and Ruhuna, Mahoora of the Vanniala-aeththo and ruler of all lands from Yapapatuna to Sampanthota, including the jungle haunts of the wild elephant: It has come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that, while there were many lakhs of elephants in the Mahadweepa that we share with Dambadhiva and Maha Cheenaya just one hundred years ago, today there are a mere sixteen thousand left. On this Dhammadweepa, there are only about three thousand pachyderms remaining of the twelve thousand or so that there were then. Of course, it is to be expected that, as the trees are cut down, the ruk devathas, the tree spirits that dwell therein, will be rendered homeless, forced ever to wonder through the air. How then can these destitute spirits be expected to protect the gigantic denizens of their jungle realm? In this country, it appears that the forests are but half of what they used to be fifty years ago. And, as the ruk devathas lose their abodes, so are the sources of food for the mighty relatives of the god Gana Eeshvara depleted. Now, it has come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that the hungry elephants are entering villages and foraging in the piles of rubbish found there. One such rubbish heap in Polonnaruwa has reportedly become a place of considerable attraction for the pachyderms. It is said that the food they find there is far tastier than the frugal repast they partake of in their leafy retreats. One reason is that the waste food from the ambalamas where Parangis and other foreigners stay is being dumped in this place. Some ignorant people, including officials of the angshaya in charge of protecting the abodes and animals of the ruk devathas, have complained about these rubbish heaps, which lie in the traditional paths of the lordly animals. These ill-informed people do not seem to realise that these rubbish heaps are like lamps lighting the way to the salvation of our elephants. It is known that most of the dirt that pollutes the body of the Mihikaanthaa, the Earth goddess, originates from Amerikaawa, that richest of realms. And it is said that a large part of this dirt is made up of the uneaten meals and the leftovers from the over-large feasts of which the denizens of that mighty kingdom partake. And that empire has difficulty in ridding itself of the mountains of ordure it produces. It is hereby decreed that Veera Thri-ron Appu manthri immediately inform the ambassador of Pandhura, chakravarthi of Amerikaawa, that this resplendent isle is willing to accept (for a suitable fee to the treasury, which should please the heart of Narimanas Shoka-siha manthri) all the rubbish that is produced in the households and eating places of that mighty nation. This rubbish can be shipped to the places on this isle of the blessed where elephants congregate, and there they can have their fill of a variety of foods, like Maekko Dhanambulas and Ooshna Sunakhayas, the staple diets of the people of Amerikaawa. This rubbish will be disposed of by the elephants, who will no longer need the forests to eat in. The forests can be cleared for activities beloved to the Vessapathis and others of enterprise. It should be noted, furthermore, that the rubbish heap in Polonnaruwa has become a place of attraction for foreigners, who come to look at the elephants. So if we create more rubbish-heap-eating-places for the elephants, more will be the foreigners who will come to see them, further filling the coffers of the treasury. Swasthi Shree! This rock edict is made on this day of Ravi of the month of Binara of the Year of the Saka Era 1930. |
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